LONDON STADIUM — From unimaginable to touchable, from fleeting fantasy to imminent possibility, from heaven to hell and back again, Nottingham Forest are potentially 90 minutes from the Champions League. Somehow this thing is still on. There is no question it would be one of the great achievements of the Premier League era. Its ever-deepening friability only makes it more tantalising.
This was a renewal of Forest’s footballing vows and rediscovery of their identity, a return to their core principles of collectivism and counter-attacking, set-pieces and a deep, unwavering belief in Mats Sels’ brilliance.
"Areola gift wrapping it for Morgan Gibbs-White!"
Nottingham Forest take an early lead! pic.twitter.com/IxaM38xydl
Morgan Gibbs-White was every sinew the superstar Forest knew him to be, bathed in an easy light; stronger and faster and better than anyone else.
Of course, if there was ever an environment in which Forest could thrive, this was it. Half-empty and less than half-hearted, the London Stadium was stale and soulless, a plastic den of apathy and disappointment. The reaction to Alphonse Areola’s third error leading to a goal this season – passing directly to Gibbs-White 18 yards out – was wry resignation. There is little reason for these fans to expect anything different.
None of this was helped by a six-minute VAR break to confirm Nikola Milenkovic’s goal, which would have damaged the atmosphere if there had been one to start with. The day after it inexplicably decided the FA Cup final, here it simply succeeded in further boring an already bored stadium, simply delaying the wider priority of leaving as soon as possible.
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Next Sunday, Forest and Chelsea risk contesting a deeply funny, deeply chaotic Champions League decider. Both teams will be desperate to have as little of the ball as possible, thriving on the counter, on exploiting complacency and mistakes. Champions League qualification will almost certainly be decided by which club can more successfully spurn possession and hold their nerve in doing so. Instinct will tell them to crave control, but statistics suggest otherwise.
Post-match, Nuno pointed to another key metric in deciding games – scoring first. In the 23 league games Forest have scored first, they have won 17, drawn five and lost just one. In the 14 they have either scored second or not at all, they have lost nine and won just two.
And so the framework and plan through which Forest can summit the mountaintop is clear and established. The only issue now is executing it.
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